In the hinge art the nomenclature for components varies slightly depending upon the type of hinge that is being described. For the bulk of hinges, typically there are at least two "leaves" that are joined to "knuckles" through which passes the "hinge pin" such that the leaves can be pivoted with respect to each other about the hinge pin axis. However, the hinge that is used for eyeglasses and the like uses the terminology "barrels" for the overlapping portions having aligned apertures to accept the hinge pin. Typically these hinges of the eyeglass art have an odd number of barrels, as 3, 5, 7 and 9. As such, the top and bottom barrels (and perhaps the odd ones in between) are joined to one member and the remaining barrels are joined to the other member for which pivotal motion is desired. Another distinction between these types of hinges is that the conventional hinge normally has a constant diameter of the aperture in the knuckles, while the eye glass hinge can either have a uniform size aperture in all barrels or the top or bottom barrel can be of smaller diameter, with this portion being threaded to threadably receive a threaded portion of the hinge pin. Although the present invention can be adapted to hinge pins of the common hinge, or to any joining of a plurality of layers, it is deemed to have particular application for use as the hinge pin for eyeglasses either as a temporary substitute for original pins or as an original pin.
It is a common problem with wearers of eyeglasses to lose a temple hinge pin at the most inopportune time. Seldom does a person have a replacement handy or even have a screw driver to reset the pin. More often the pin falls where it cannot be retrieved. Temporary repair usually entails inserting a tooth pick end or such other device that is fitted through at least a portion of the barrels.
Various other temporary or permanent solutions to the problem have been addressed by persons of the prior art. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,947,024 ('024) issued to F. Czudak, Jr. on Aug. 2, 1960, a stud-type pin is provided that can be inserted through the barrels, with the pin having an axial slot such that outwardly extending protrusions can move toward each other during the insertion of the pin through the hinge and yet permit the protrusions to move outwardly when in place to catch against the bottom of the barrels. In one embodiment a spring is inserted into the slot to ensure the outward movement of the protrusions. This device is sized to fit a particular diameter of the aperture in the barrels as well as the total thickness of all of the barrels of the hinge.
Another prior solution to the problem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,991,695 ('695) issued to H. V. Jones on Jul. 11, 1961. This pin is a self-locking screw that initially has a length greater than the combined dimension of the barrels. The shank has an axial slot that terminates before the distal end of the screw such that when excess length of the screw is cut away, the portions of the screw on either side of the slot become legs that tend to diverge from each other due to stresses that are instilled therein during manufacture. This device is sized to fit a particular diameter of aperture in the barrels: there is no limitation on the length as long as the slot extends beyond the bottom barrel of the hinge.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,546,735 ('735) issued to P. J. Liautaud on Dec. 15, 1970, describes a resilient hinge pin that is useful when the bottom barrel is threaded. It has a shank that closely fits the aperture of the other barrels, and has a distal end that can be forced through the threaded portion which then expands upon exiting the threaded portion. This device is sized both for the diameter of the apertures as well as for the total thickness of the hinge. Another spectacle hinge pin is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,565 ('565) issued to R. A. Wenzel on Jul. 30, 1974. This pin has a head with a depending shank with a portion of the shank having a diameter matching that of the apertures of the barrels and a distal portion of reduced diameter. Extending from this portion of reduced diameter is a barb that, when it exits from the lower barrel, engages the bottom surface of that barrel to inhibit the accidental removal of the pin. The pin is illustrated as being used for a hinge having a threaded lower barrel. This construction requires sizing as to the diameter of the apertures, as well as the distance from the head to the barb for a given thickness of hinge.
Several embodiments of a hinge pin are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,848 ('848) issued to S. Cheselka on Aug. 24, 1982. In one embodiment, there is a head with a depending shank that passes through the apertures to extend beyond the bottom of the barrels. This shank is serrated on the surface, and a cap is frictionally engagable with the serrations to hold the pin in position. Another embodiment of that patent depicts a pin of a length generally corresponding to the total thickness of the hinge which has outwardly extending flaps that engage the bottom surface of the bottom barrel, with these flaps being received in recesses in the shank while the pin is forced through the barrels. This embodiment must be sized for the diameter of the apertures, as well as to the total thickness of the hinge. Further, this pin is not adaptable to hinges wherein the lower (or upper) barrel aperture is threaded.
As indicated above, there is great variation in the thickness of the hinge. This is due to the number of barrels and the thickness of each barrel. In addition, there is a great variation in the "standard" diameters of the apertures of the barrels as well as the threaded aperture of some barrels. The typical "standard" diameters are approximately 0.040, 0.050 and 0.060 in. Also, as indicated above, the pins of the prior art must be sized for the aperture size, and some must be sized for the thickness of the hinge. These two size limitations require that there be a significant number of different sizes of pins and thread configurations (probably of the order of 200) such that all eyeglasses can be accommodated.
Other references that may be pertinent to an evaluation of the present invention are U.S. Pat. No. 1,974,160 issued to C. R. Peirson on Sep. 18, 1934; No. 4,381,633 issued to R. J. MacLeod on May 3, 1983; No. 4,427,328 issued to M. Kojima on Jan. 24 1984; No. 4,776,739 issued to D. C. Hamman on Oct. 11, 1988; and No. 4,902,182 issued to J. C. Lewis on Feb. 20, 1990. Possibly pertinent foreign patents are British Patent 520,169 and German Patent 2,711,335.
The U.S. Pat. No. '633 patent describes a fastener for use in attaching a structural element (e.g., shutters) to a surface (e.g., an exterior wall). There is a shank with curved flexible hemi-annular projections that can be deformed toward the shank as the fastener is passed into apertures in the items to be fastened. Due to the shape of the projections, which curl inwardly as deformed, transverse motion of the joined components can occur since there is no intent to prevent such movement. The shape of the projections prevents their coming into full contact with the shank.
The British patent ('169) is directed to a plug to fill a hole, and is not directed to joining any layers. The plub has various forms of "ribs" that engage the inner surface of the hole. These ribs have either a saw-tooth cross-section (preferred), or can have a rounded shape. In the preferred form, there is a recess adjacent each rib that is slightly smaller than the rib.
In the German patent ('335), which is directed to a device for attaching insulating board, there is a dowel-type threaded socket to which is fitted a number of barbed hooks. These hooks are caused to become imbedded in the insulating panel.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fastener for joining a plurality of layers of material where the layers can be the same or different materials, with those layers having aligned apertures to closely receive the fastener, the fastener preventing transverse movement of the layers.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a hinge pin for use in eyeglasses that reduces the number of configurations that are required to provide a pin for the large combination of hinge thicknesses and apertures.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hinge pin for use in eyeglasses that can be utilized for any standard diameter of aperture and any standard hinge thickness.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hinge pin for use in eyeglasses, either as a replacement or as an original pin, that can be used for either a hinge having a threaded barrel or a hinge with an unthreaded barrel.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a hinge pin for use in eyeglasses, or for the joining of multiple layers of material, that is easily inserted in apertures of the parts.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon a consideration of the drawings identified below together with a complete description thereof.